A United Nations report says Israel's recent military offensive in the northern Gaza Strip killed 107 Palestinians and left almost 700 others homeless.

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which cares for Palestinian refugees, issued the report this week. It says the Israeli incursion caused more than $3 million in property damage over 17 days.

Israel initiated the offensive September 29 in an effort to halt militant rocket attacks on Israeli settlers. The incursion was halted last week after officials said it had accomplished its mission.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the U.N. report.

Friday, defiant Palestinian militants pounded Jewish settlements with mortar fire in the southern Gaza Strip. This followed the killing of a top Hamas bombmaker in an Israeli missile strike on Thursday.